"Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa

2/19/2015

Now that you have read and analyzed the poem, "Facing It" by Yusef Komuyakaa, select 3 strong images from the poem and discuss their literal AND figurative meanings. Finish your response by explaining how these images and their metaphorical meaning helps your understanding of the theme of the poem (hint: revisit the title of the poem).

PLEASE ADD WORD COUNT AT END OF EACH BLOG ENTRY!

Primary Blog Entry Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class. Due by 11:59 pm on Friday night (2-20-2015).

Secondary Blog Entry Expectations (read everyone's first responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class. Due by 11:59 pm on Sunday night (2-22-2015).

(3 total blog entries for this assignment)

2/20/2015 04:22:20 am

This poem is about a Vietnam veteran that is reflecting back to the Vietnam War. The poem starts off as; my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. I said I wouldn’t. dammit: no tears. I’m stone. I’m flesh. He comes one with the wall like he is a mirror, like he is nothing. As he looks at the wall he tries to fight back his tears, he is a strong man, but he is also human, he has emotions and he gets sensitive. In the poem he says that he turns one way the stone lets him go, he turns the other way he is back in the wall. When he turns one way he sees the wall ending, he looks the other way he sees it rising again. He can see himself back in the war with all the other dead veterans. The wall ends and starts at the same point. As he touches one of his friends name, he sees him in the wall. He gets flashbacks. “I go down the 58,022 names, half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke”. As he goes down all of the 58,022 names he is relieved, yet surprised that his name is not carved in the wall with grey lettering.
The poet ends the poem saying; a woman’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair. This means that a mother is showing her son her father’s name and telling him that it is okay but life still has to move on. No matter how much you want someone back, life has to keep going. In order to get over someone death or at least cope with it, you have to go directly to it.

2/22/2015 11:33:49 am

This is actually very true , I can relate to what you're saying because many of the parts of the poem that they talked about , I actually wrote about too .

2/22/2015 11:26:48 pm

I totally agree with everything that you said about the poet. He is basically trying to find a way to cope with the loss of the soldiers/friends, but being in the memorial is not a great way for him to avoid an emotional breakdown. The last part where the woman was brushing a boy's hair, is a way of the poet wishing that the soldiers were still alive so that he will not continue to stress about their death. And also, a way of trying to deny the death of soldiers in Vietnam, but unfortunately he is unable to deny the death of the soldiers.
word count: 105

2/20/2015 04:31:11 am

Throughout this poem we come across a soldier who is “facing it” on his own. This soldier is having flash backs from the war because he was a veteran himself. Starring at the wall of names, he spots the name “Andrew Johnson.” Which was his friend, someone that he has to realize is gone and never coming back. “My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite.” He was upset, he was hurt and he was crying. Trying to hold back his tears that he said he wouldn’t have shed. He is very sensitive and he’s feeling down. His emotions and how he is feeling is what he is trying to hide, which isn’t turning out how he wanted it to. “My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey.” His reflection is on him, he’s feeling depressed and finding it hard to let go of this change to him. He feels as if people look through him, and don’t understand him. Although he has to understand that life goes on and he will have to live with the fact that he lost someone. Now he has to face his fears and downfalls and realize that he has to move on. “The profile of night slanted against morning.” Now, the sun is coming up against him. He needs the sunlight to actually read the names on the wall, then he is able to find the names, and he finds the name Andrew Johnson. Someone he doesn’t want to let go or live without, but in the end he has to move and realize he’s gone, forever.

(267)

2/22/2015 11:38:59 am

I actually agree with this , I feel like the author was really affected by the death of his friend and that's why it was really hard for him to be able to face his death and realize that he needs to move on .

2/22/2015 02:07:26 pm

I agree with this because it is about a soldier trying to get over the fact that he made out alive, yet a lot of his friends didn't. He can never erase what happened and he can't take it back. He has to confront what is hurting and bothering him so he can move forward.

2/23/2015 02:45:50 am

I agree with everything you said, the death of his friend had a significant impact on him in a negative way. He cries because he misses his friend even though he urged himself to stop crying and being emotional, but he can no longer continue to hold back the tears from dripping down on his face.

2/20/2015 05:04:06 am

In Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing It”, there were three images that came to mind while I was reading it. On the first line of the poem, the literal meaning is that he is looking at the Vietnam Memorial, but his skin blends in to the reflection that comes off of the memorial. The metaphorical meaning is that as he is looking into the memorial, he is trying to hide his feelings from being at the memorial.
Also, in the poem states, “A white vet’s image floats closer to me … He’s lost his right arm” (Komunyakaa line 25-29). The literal meaning of this line is that a veteran is also at the memorial looking at the names, but he had lost an arm. The metaphorical meaning is that this veteran was also in the Vietnam War, and he had lost an arm, but looking into the memorial he feels as if he had lost another part of himself due to the tragedy that occurred during the war.
At the end of the poem he says, “In the black mirror a woman’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair” (Komunyakaa line 29-31). The literal meaning of this illustrates that the author is seeing a woman erasing a name on the wall; however he changes his mind and just says that the woman is actually brushing a boy’s hair. The metaphorical meaning of this is the woman is erasing the name of her husband, wanting him to be with there with her. But then she is brushing her son’s hair providing him comfort knowing that his father had passed away during the Vietnam War.
In order to move on from a tragedy that had occurred in our lives, we must face it so that we can live peacefully without any weight on our shoulders anymore.
(306 words)

2/20/2015 09:38:45 am

I agree, peace comes with being strong and facing all obstacles.

2/22/2015 02:45:16 pm

I agree with the metaphorical meaning of the white vet’s image. He may have felt like he left a part of himself on the battlefield during the Vietnam War. I also agreed with the meaning of the poem being in order to move on with life you first do so by facing your fears. That would explain the author naming the poem “Facing it”. I also think the solider went to the memorial because his experience in the war may make his life seem surreal. He may be going to the memorial to come to terms with what he has been through and the fact that he is still alive in order to move on and live a peaceful life.
word count: 120

3/2/2015 11:51:20 am

I agree completely to be strong you need to take in all the hurt you came crossed and then better from it learn new things. Like you said about the white uniform, he mostlikey left his heart out on that battlefield and it hurts him to not have his men that he went in with by his side still

3/2/2015 01:08:15 pm

Yes. regardless the tragedy and mishaps we experience in life, in the end we must face what's reality and begin to move on in order to obtain total inner peace.

2/20/2015 05:10:04 am

Facing It by Yusef Komunyakaa is about a Vietnam vet visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and remembering what he went through during that time. This poem has a lot of imagery throughout the poem. One image in this poem is when the author says” I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap’s white flash”. The author has a flashback from the Vietnam War when he touches one of his friends’ names. Another image is when the author says “I turn this way – the stone lets me go. I turn that way – I’m inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference”. The author is saying that when he turns one way there’s an exit from the memorial, but when he turns another way the memorial is getting bigger and bigger. The final image is when the author says “A white vet’s image floats closer to me, and then his pale eyes look through mine. I’m a window. He’s lost his right arm inside the stone”. The author is saying that a white vet came up to look at the memorial. The author thought the white vet was looking at him but he wasn’t. He also thought he lost his right arm.

2/22/2015 02:56:30 pm

The first imagery that you refer to is the same that I mentioned in my own post. I think that that is an important part of the poem, how he has the flashback when he touches his friends name that is on the memorial.

2/20/2015 07:37:55 am

The 3 images from the poem that I think are important are when it says “My black face fades,” “I’m stone. I’m flesh, “and “Facing it.” The literal meaning of “My black face fades” is that the author Yusef Komunyakaa is black and the memorial is made out of black granite, so his face blend into the memorial and can’t see his face. The metaphorical meaning of this quote is that when he looks into the memorial and his face blends in, he feels that he is one with the soldiers that he has fought with. The literal meaning of “I’m stone. I’m flesh” is that he is human and that his is stone since his name is on the memorial wall. The metaphorical meaning of the quote is that the speaker is strong like stone but yet he is still human. He still has emotion and still is sensitive, even though he went through the war. The literal meaning of “Facing it” is that he is literally facing the memorial and looking at the names of the soldiers. The metaphorical meaning of that quote is that when he is looking into the memorial, he is trying to hide his emotion or feeling he had towards the memorial. Before I read the poem and saw the title, I automatically thought that someone is going through a situation or an obstacle. After I read it now I think that when you have a certain situation or obstacle and you can’t get over it, most of us must face it to move on from it. (264)

2/20/2015 09:40:52 am

I agree!

2/21/2015 02:09:55 am

I agree with you when you said people must face things in order to move on from it because without Yusef visiting the memorial, he would have never had closure. And even though he had visited the memorial many times before, this last time gave him the final push to face that reality that his friends are gone while he is still living.

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2/22/2015 10:27:02 am

I agree with what your explaining here because if I had to guess he would be at the memorial to face his grief to begin with because if he wasn't upset or feeling any emotion toward this subject then he wouldn't be there but since he is his goal is to finally confront this big obstacle that has been on his mind for quite some time I would think since he is trying to over come major things like these images he are seeing and feeling like their point about him being flesh and showing emotion while trying to keep his stone like composure. Grief does count as a major obstacle and because he is at the memorial facing his fear is exactly what he is doing.

3/4/2015 03:39:17 am

I agree with this. The man in the poem is really facing this problem on his own but hes going to have to over come this problem and move on with his life to better him self and think positive.

2/20/2015 09:29:16 am

On lines 3-4, “ I said I wouldn't, dammit: No tears.” The author struggles to keep his feelings in control, but when he falls in tears, his emotional sense falls upon him making him feel very sad because of what he is witnessing at the moment. He is a very strong but he let his emotions take over and showed grief instead of being a “hard rock” person who shows no emotional effect on the situation. The other image is in lines 17-18, the author could be experiencing a flashback of the guy Andrew and probably how he died, as he touches the name, he gets flash of images of booby traps. The last image would be in lines 30-31, whereas the author was witnessing the woman in the black mirror as she was combing her sons hair, an act of motherly tenderness, but truly what she could have been doing was just petting her son maybe because the name she seemed to be “erasing” was her husband and they needed to say goodbye and move on. In order to face our fears, we must overcome them by coming face to face because by facing them it can reduce their impact on us!

Word count: 203

2/22/2015 10:15:44 am

I agree with what you are saying about his friend Andrew Jackson and the booby trap flashback because it is relevant how a flash can be associated with some kind of explosion. Another image I agree with would be the first one about showing no tears because he is an experienced veteran who is supposed to be tough as nails and how its okay to show emotion no matter who you are because even thugs cry as the artist 2Pac.

2/22/2015 11:08:24 am

I agree with you when you said that the author struggles to keep his feelings in control but ends up in tears because he realizes that they are gone forever and will not be coming back so he needed to stay strong for them but couldn't because of all the memories he has of them.

3/4/2015 03:40:57 am

I agree with this statement. Theres no way you will be able to over come your fears if you don't face them in reality and do what you have to do to become more strong and controlling over a situation that you shouldn't let over come your life.

2/20/2015 11:48:04 am

In the poem “Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa, it is about a Vietnam veteran who goes to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C so that he could visit and read the names of his fallen comrades. Throughout this poem, there are 3 images that I felt had a stronger literal and figurative meaning behind this poem. One of the images that I felt had a stronger literal and figurative meaning would be when the speaker said “I said I wouldn’t, dammit: No tears. I’m stone. I’m flesh.” When the speaker had said this, it shows that he is trying to stay strong by fighting back all the emotional feelings that he has when looking at the names on the wall but he soon gets overwhelmed with all these feelings because he is still human. The second image from this poem that has a deeper meaning would be the one where the speaker said “I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap’s white flash.” In this part of the poem, the speaker is remembering about a time during the war with Andrew Johnson soon after he had touched his name on the wall which shows that he would always honor and remember all the times they had spent during the war. The last image in this poem that has a deeper meaning is when the speaker said “In the black mirror a women’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.” As for this part of the poem, this shows how the speaker notices a women trying to erase names off the wall but realizes that she is brushing a boy’s hair but in a deeper meaning it shows that the women wants to remove the names off the wall because she doesn't want to believe the fact that they are gone forever. With each of these images, they tie into the theme of this poem which is that in order to overcome grief, we must first face the problem to move on because the speaker is visiting the memorial wall so that he could move on and continue living. (356)

2/22/2015 10:54:48 am

It would seem I am confused on what the differences are between the literal and metaphorical meanings to some of the sentences in the poem. For some of the sentences in the poem you are kind of repeating what was already said in the poem. You are not thinking what the author might be implying deeper. For instance, when you talk about the flashback of the booby trap what details offer you the notion that he was grateful for the time the spent in the war? There was no line that could really support what you are saying here. I do like your theme because clearly the speaker goes to the memorial, where memories about the Vietnam war are stronger, in order to have strength to overcome his fears.

2/22/2015 02:58:24 pm

I think it was very true when the speaker is talking about a woman who is comforting a boy by brushing through his hair but at the same time who might also be erasing the name off the wall. Maybe it is someone that she knows or it could even be her husband or relative.

2/20/2015 01:07:48 pm

There are three images from the poem that I think are important and admire. One is " I'm inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference". Such as this quote, I imagine the author returning to the memorial again and looking at the names and noticing how the sunlight makes it a difference. As for the metaphorical meaning, the author goes to the memorial again to find peace in the light for all those deaths. The second one is, "Names shimmer on a women's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall". The image I get is the author seeing a women having the reflection of the names on her blouse, but when she moves it disappears. In the metaphorical meaning, the author realizes that our lives still moves on while people who died for our country don't get to move on with their lives. For the third one I have, "In the black mirror a woman's trying to erase names: No, she's brushing a boy's hair". In this quote I imagine the reflection of the woman in the memorial mirror rubbing her hands on the names, but really she was just brushing her son's hair. Behind that qoute the metaphorical meaning is the author thought the woman was trying to erase names to bring back the dead or pretending believe if the names weren't there then their deaths wouldn't be true. The woman was really just comforting her son from someone they lost. Relating my three images to the poems theme, people often deny reality and want to go back in time and change it. It's hard for them to accept, but they do so they go and try to find peace.

(293)

2/22/2015 11:16:29 am

I agree with what you said about the author realizes that our lives continues but the dead doesn't because no matter how much we want to change the past so that things would be different for all of us, we can't so we just have to know that we could continue living for them and carry all the memories that we had of them.

2/20/2015 01:25:33 pm

In Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing It”, there were three images that helped me to understand the theme of this poem. ”My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite.” The literal meaning of quote is that he is an African American man and he blends into the black granite. The figurative meaning is he fades into the memorial due to the fact that he fought in the Vietnam War where he witnessed some on the casualties that are craved into the wall. “I said I wouldn’t, dammit: No tears. I’m stone. I’m flesh.” The literal meaning of the quote is he didn’t want to cry because he is strong. The figurative part behind the quote is that no matter how hard or “stone” he tries to seem the memorial makes him raw and emotional hence the use of the sentence “I’m flesh.” “In the black mirror a woman’s trying to erase names; No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.” He believes he sees a woman trying to rub away names from the memorial’s wall but he soon realizes she’s just touching her son’s hair. Figuratively the woman he thinks he sees erasing the names away is him trying to erase the memory of being in the war. After analyzing the poem I came to the conclusion that the meaning of the poem “Facing it” is he has finally faced his past and his life will continue to go on. He’s also thankful he isn’t a name on the wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.
word count: 254

2/20/2015 01:36:41 pm

In the poem, “Facing It”, Yusef Komunyakaa does a wonderful job of relating ordinary things to his nightmarish past in the Vietnam war. Every line/sentence of the poem has a deeper meaning that talks about not only what he witnesses at the Vietnam War memorial, but also about his quest to forget about his time in the Vietnam war. For instance, from line 6 to 8 (“My clouded reflection…..slanted against morning), Yusef is literally discussing how the memorial wall of names casts a shadow over him even when it is dawn. You can infer here that not only does this imply about his position to the wall, but also the role memories of the Vietnam War have in his life. For him the nightmares of the Vietnam war has set a black shadow to his life to the point were even when there is light, happiness, it is vanquished by his horrific memories. This is not the only example. From line 14 to 16 (“I go down …..letters like smoke”) he is talking about how he expects his name among the other grayish carved names of the dead on the wall. However, knowing his background in the Vietnam War, we might also be able to imply that this represents the fact that he barely missed death in the war. It was by chance, or perhaps the heroics of Andrew Johnson, that veered him from being among the dead. Lastly in the very last sentence he sees a reflection of a woman brushing a boy’s hair. For him it has come to mean finally letting go of the past. Living life for now and not to ponder about such a past. I think this is the message that he generally is trying to give. That in order to face fears you must combat it at its strongest point and fight through emotions to defeat them.
Word Count: 263

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2/20/2015 03:06:47 pm

In order to deal with our fears we must face them head on. In this poem we encounter a veteran
who visits the vietnam veterans memorial and does this exact thing, he faces his fears. During
this he sees multiple different images that depict very strong feelings toward this subject. One
major image would be how when he touched the memorial and seen the white flash after he
touched the name “Andrew Johnson.” The literal meaning behind that would be because of the
flash that came from a picture of the memorial that someone took behind him. The even deeper
meaning behind this would how how his friend Andrew Johnson died in an explosion and the
white flash came from some booby trap that he mentions later on, could this mean he triggered it
but his friend died? Another image that was real strong was how he was half expecting to find
his name in smoke meaning the gray words on the black granatte. The deeper meaning behind
this image would be because he would of expected to die if these men who did the same work as
him but he didn't so his name isn't up there but being that it was a real bad war he would of
expected it to be which is a fear that he was facing. Finally, a last image that he saw would be
how he saw the woman trying to erase the names but she was really brushing a boys hair. With
this one, the literal meaning is that she is brushing his hair and her reflection looks otherwise but
the deeper meaning is how this is when he was done facing his fear that its time to come back to
reality, its done and over with, she isn't trying to erase the names she was just brushing her sons
hair, in his mind he is back to reality and his fears are faced.

301

3/2/2015 05:09:33 am

I agree completely with what your saying. The man goes to the memorial and he keeps having flash backs of when he was in the Vietnam war.

2/20/2015 03:21:20 pm

The poem "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa, he discusses the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the emotional effect it had on him as one of the soldiers. Among the three images that stood out to me was "My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite". The literal meaning to this quote is that he is having a flashback of the struggles he experience during his time in the Vietnam War whereby he witnessed the death of his friends(soldiers) except for him who lived. Also seeing the names of his deceased counterparts craved into the wall makes him very emotional. The second outstanding image was "I said I wouldn't dammit: No tears," this shows that even though he promised himself that he will not shed tears during the visit, he could not hold back the tears from dripping down. Regardless, he is human and entitled to be emotional at some point in life. The last image that provided me with a better understanding was, "In the black mirror a woman's trying to erase names: No, she's brushing a boy's hair." This quote means that the protagonist is unable to accept that others are not affected by Vietnam as he is, and his own struggles with accepting his past as a soldier in Vietnam leads him to see a woman as trying to “erase names,” as a way of trying to deny the death of soldiers in Vietnam. But unfortunately he is unable to deny the death of the soldiers, and as a result he is stuck in his past.
Word count: 260

2/21/2015 02:20:37 am

I never thought of it as that, that because he is actually now facing the death of his former soliders, that he is stuck in the past. Maybe that is why he keeps visiting the memorial so that everytime he goes, hopefully one time will be the time he faces the reality of death and he is able to move on peacefully

2/22/2015 10:37:33 am

I do not understand what you are trying to say about the images depicted in Yusef Kumonyakaa’s poem “Facing It”. For one, there was no mention of someone taking a picture behind the speaker. That sentence only explains the fact that Yusef Kumonyakaa is having a flashback about a moment during his time in the war where a bomb explodes in his face. Your explanation of the very last sentence also confuses me very much. The whole point of the poem is to help Yusef forget about the past. He does not want to deny that the deaths happened but in fact acknowledge them and move on with his life. Perhaps, you take a different meaning to the sentence because you did not really understand the tone at this very last sentence.

3/2/2015 11:55:06 am

He will always be stuck in the past because you can never let that experience go, all the images, sounds, laughs, tears, everything he will always have flashbacks but now at this wall he is remembering all his friends that died along the way, that is no longer with him, now hes maybe like why am i alive still and they are not. he will always be stuck in the past now.

2/20/2015 03:47:14 pm

The poem “Facing it” by Yusef Komunyakaa has a substantial amount of imagery. It has literal meanings and figurative meanings. The very first line strongly shows this, it says, “My black face fades.” The literal meaning is that his face is fading away; the figurative meaning is that his reflection blends in because of his skin color. This means that the main character is African American. The fifth line says, “I’m stone. I’m flesh.” This means exactly what is said but the figurative meaning is that he is has to be strong about a situation but he is then stating that he is flesh or emotional because he is human therefore he can’t be that strong. The last line says, “A woman’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.” The literal meaning is that he had a reflection of a women trying to erase names but she was just brushing a boy’s hair. This line is the most figurative. He thought the woman was trying to erase the names of the soldiers that died to make them come back to life. She was actually brushing a boy’s hair meaning she was comforting and cherishing the people that died. All of these images that I pointed out show me the theme through their metaphorical meanings. To me, the theme is that memories are will always be there and they will bring you back to a place that is most meaningful to you. Count=244

2/20/2015 03:51:40 pm

In the poem, “Facing It” By Yusef Komunyakaa, the author who was a veteran in the Vietnam War is now visiting the Vietnam Memorial In Washington D.C to basically remember and honor his friends who he has lost because of the war. “My black faces fades, hiding inside the black granite” (Komunyakaa). Literally his dark skin complexion blends in with the granite and is causing his face to become hidden in the granite, when metaphorically the author almost wants to hide his face in a way to hide his emotions and feelings, because that way if he doesn’t release those emotions, the reality of his friends dying in war wont be real either.
“A white vet’s image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine. I’m a window. He’s lost his right arm inside the stone” (Komunyakaa). Literally Yusef is describing how another veteran is at the memorial looking at the names on the back granite stone and the vet’s arm disappears in the black granite, but metaphorically Yusef is facing the possible truth that this vet has come to honor the ones lost in the war, but his right arm is actually gone due to the war and Yusef must face the reality that this stone almost represents the war itself.
A women’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boys hair. The author, Yusef Komunyakaa literally see’s a women brushing a boys hair, but metaphorically, because the reflection is seen through the black granite it seems to Yusef that she is trying to erase names. This has a lot to do with facing things because Yusef wants to the names to be erased, that way the names will be gone and they will never have died, but when he realizes that they reflection of the women brushing the boys hair seems as though the names are being erased, he finally faces reality knowing that those names will never be erased because the men are forever dead.

2/22/2015 08:07:12 am

I disagree with what you have said about the veteran losing an arm line. Sure, the literal meaning is a given. But when I read over the poem I had to say that the figurative meaning of that line was that when he was looking into the memorial with his missing arm, he has also felt like he was missing something more than that when he was looking at the names in the memorial.

2/22/2015 02:54:58 pm

I interpreted the quote about the white vet’s arm as in he feels like a part of him is missing after the war. That is as far as the metaphorical sense of the quote because the literally meaning is self-evident. I don’t agree with the woman erasing the names and the “men being forever dead”. I think when he sees the woman rubbing the boy’s head it symbolizes the fact that there is life still continuing after the war. He can continue on with his life peacefully after he comes to terms with his experience and the things he did during the Vietnam War.
word count: 105

2/20/2015 03:54:08 pm

In Yusef Komunyakaa's "Facing it", there were three images that I came across as I was reading it. On line 19, it says " Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall." This line shows the literal meaning of the granite that the names are embedded in is shining off the woman's blouse that he is talking about, but it also shows the figurative meaning of how the names on the wall, each and everyone of them are important and are all admired and respected by many people who knew who they were and those who didn't.
Another line that I came across while reading was the first line, " My black face fades, while hiding inside the black granite." I believe that the literal meaning speaks for itself, he's looking at the black granite and his face is disappearing because it seems that his face is as dark as the walls and is blending in. The figurative meaning of this line is that he is looking past himself, getting lost in the many names that he sees and loses himself in his own head thinking about them.
The last line that I felt that caught my attention was line 39, "In the black mirror a woman's trying to erase names: No, she's brushing a boys hair." It had a literal meaning as the women uses the granite as mirror perhaps to brush the boys hair, but it also has a figurative meaning of trying to erase the names on the wall because it could be to painful to look at, she could maybe a loved one who doesn't want to feel anymore pain and decides to remove the name to symbolize taking the pain away that she must feel from the grief.
From these quotes I have understood that you must deal with the problem you are having in life whether it's sadness, lost, being hurt, you have to take the courage you have and use that to help you face your problems and move on in your life because if not, you'll always ways have that following you like your shadow. (360)

2/22/2015 08:00:01 am

I never thought of it that way, the figurative meaning of the first line that he is looking at the names and is getting lost in the many names that he sees. I figured that the figurative meaning was him trying to hide his feelings since he was fading away.

2/21/2015 02:09:09 pm

Three strong images from the poem is: “I’m a window”, “In the black mirror a woman’s trying to erase names: no, she’s brushing a boy’s hair” and “I’m stone. I’m flesh.” The literal meaning to the first one is that the poet is trying to show us that he is like a window. That people see through him and at him. The second image means that the poet is fighting with himself while watching this mother and child. He notices that she is ‘erasing’ the names that are on the wall in front of her. But he also notices that the woman is with her son visiting the wall. The third image means that he is the proof of that war. He represents the men that had fought for our country. ‘He is flesh.’ These help me understand the poem Facing It. The images and the meanings help me understand the poem a bit better. The whole poem is all about this solider that is visiting an old friend on the wall. These meanings are the things that helped me understand that.

3/2/2015 05:12:29 am

Everything in this is true. One thing that I would like to add is to the last image. When he's saying that he's flesh it also means that he's vulnerable.

2/22/2015 02:53:56 pm

20/2/15
Throughout the poem “Facing it” there are many uses of imagery and figurative language. The first image that I chose was when the speaker in the poem fades into the black granite. This is mentioned within the first two lines. Figuratively the speaker is fading away from reality but literately he is looking into the reflection of the granite and seeing past himself as if looking in a mirror. The second image I have chosen is in lines 17 and 18 when the speaker touches a name and sees smoke of booby traps. Literately this is referring to the grey colour that the name is chiselled in the granite. Figuratively the deeper meaning of this is the speaker having a flashback when he sees the name of his friend, he thinks about the war he once fought in. The third form of imagery in this poem is the image that is created in lines 30 and 31. He tells about a women erasing one of the names but who is really comforting her son. Literately it might be a mother who is giving comfort to her son who had a father or grandfather at war. Figuratively the speaker is imagining a woman trying to remove a name so that that one person can be alive again.
The theme of this poem is that in order to move on in life we must accept that people will pass on earlier and unexpectedly. We have to grieve and address the situation in order to accept what has happened.

Words: 256

3/2/2015 07:10:00 am

In The Poem Facing it three images from the poem that I choose to explain would be “Names shimmer on a women’s blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall’’, “A white vet’s image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine”, and “In the black mirror a woman’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair”. The first image is “Names shimmer on a women’s blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall” which is saying how the words from the memorial are reflecting off the woman’s’ shirt, but when she walks away the words stay. Metaphorically, he is seeing the words reflecting off the woman’s shirt but the words are staying because of all the soldiers that have passed away. The second image “A white vet’s image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine” is literally saying that another veteran is looking at the names and he feels invisible. Metaphorically, he feels invisible because the vet’s eyes are looking through him as if he isn’t standing there because he is too focused on the names on the wall. The last image “In the black mirror a woman’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair”, is literally saying how a women is first trying to erase the names off the memorial wall but then he is brushing a boy’s hair. Metaphorically, the man is accepting the fact that the names will remain on the wall and he is facing the fact that his friend is gone, and so are all the people on that wall. The title is just a man facing the memorial wall , however metaphorically it’s about the man facing his loss and moving on to accept his fate.

3/2/2015 11:41:31 am

In the poem “Facing It” by Yusef Komuyakaa the author writes, “My black face fades, hiding inside the granite”. The literal meaning is that the speaker who is African American is looking at himself in a black wall. But, metaphorically it’s saying that he’s not hiding inside because of his skin color but because he can’t bring himself to face that wall yet so he is being pulled into it. In another line he writes “I go down the 58,022 names, half expecting to find my own in the letters of smoke”. As a veteran that he reads the name and feels as though he should see his name with theirs craved into the wall. When you look deeper into this quotation smoke can be a metaphor relation to the war. Smoke is something that you can see but fades away which could relate to people and death. You’re here for the time being and then you fade away when your time is over. Another image that he adds into the poem is “Names shimmer on a woman’s blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall”. In this part of the poem speaker sees a woman’s reflection through the granite of the wall. Metaphorically the speaker may be hoping that the takes away some of the names with her as she walks away in the hopes that maybe the people who died during the war can come back maybe. All of these images helped me to understand the theme of the poem that in order to get over a tragedy, we must face it in order to move on in life. Word Count: 276

3/2/2015 01:05:30 pm

Throughout the poem Facing It, there are numerous examples of imagery through metaphorical phrases made by the author Yusef. the first image that caught my eye was "my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite." This quote from the poem can have a literal and metaphorical meaning. It literally means he can't see his reflexion clearly in the granite wall, and could metaphorically mean he no longer sees himself, but a ghost of the past inscribed within the granite walls, memories brought with each name carved in it, grey in color. Another example being, "I'm stone. I'm flesh" Portraying the idea that he's strong as stone but built of flesh. Literally meaning he's trying to convince himself he's like a stone without emotions, but gives in and realizes he he's only human. Now the 3rd example "I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby traps white flash." now this is a flashback of seeing where Andrew had been killed in combat. He's remembering everything from that war, and Andrew must have been someone he knew.

3/3/2015 04:18:04 am

In the poem “Facing It” by Yusef Komuyakaa the author writes, “My black face fades, hiding inside the granite”. The meaning to me is he cant see himself in the reflection and he blends in with the granite. The figurative meaning of this line is that he is looking past himself, getting lost in the names that he sees and loses himself in his own head thinking about them. I also thinks it means he is trying to hide his emotions but at the same time he is trying to face his fears. Another one that he adds into the poem is “Names shimmer on a woman’s blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall”. In this part of the poem speaker sees a woman’s reflection through the granite of the wall. Metaphorically the speaker may be hoping that this takes away some of the names with her as she walks away in the hopes that maybe the people who died during the war can come back one day. The last quote is "I'm stone. I'm flesh" Portraying the idea that he's strong as stone but built of flesh. The meaning he's trying to convince himself he's like a stone without emotions, but gives in and realizes he is only human.

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